Honeoye Lake debate rages on

When the blue-green algae reared its ugly head again this summer on Honeoye Lake, the all-too familiar menace again riled lake homeowners and others with close ties to the lake.

Julie Sherwood, staff writer

When the blue-green algae reared its ugly head again this summer on Honeoye Lake, the all-too familiar menace again riled lake homeowners and others with close ties to the lake.

While troubles this year bear resemblance to past seasons — think 2010, 2002, and blooms that made headlines as far back as the 1940s and '50s — this year experts and average observers alike are taking a closer look. It has generated debate, fueled social media hype and put Honeoye Lake at the forefront of a campaign to “fix it.”

At the center of the debate is what should be done, if anything.
“There is over 200 years worth of pollution on the bottom of the lake, and it would take an ice age to remove it,” said Bruce Gilman, professor of environmental conservation and horticulture at Finger Lakes Community College.

The director of Muller Field Station on Honeoye Lake, Gilman has been researching Honeoye and other lakes for more than 30 years. Gilman said a perfect storm of natural occurrences — including hot temperatures, heavy rains, longer growing seasons and buildup of phosphorus nutrients — encourage the blooms. “We are taking the proper steps,” Gilman said of efforts to reduce erosion and keep pollution out of the lake, “but it is not enough.”

Toxic brew

Even before the results came back on Honeoye Lake water samples shipped off to SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry for scrutiny in mid-July, Jeff Moore sensed something ominous about this year’s algae bloom.
“You can almost walk on water,” Moore remarked about the time algae set off a whirlwind of repeated closings and re-openings of Sandy Bottom Beach at the lake’s north end.
It isn’t that Moore hasn’t seen algae before on the lake. He grew up on Honeoye, and in his job as a boat repairman he is out on the lake for hours at a time, he said. This year, Moore said, in his trips around the lake, he has not only experienced the pockets of slimy, green algae, but changes in the shoreline as well.
“I have been on the lake my whole life,” said Moore, recalling stretches of shoreline that were once clean, rocky beaches. Now, he said, they are covered with algae.
When test samples showed that Honeoye blue-green algae contained high toxins, the 10th smallest of the 11 Finger Lakes joined the ranks of other lakes in the state lining up as off-limits. As of Tuesday, Honeoye was one of five lakes statewide in which algae blooms tested as having “high toxins.” (Others included Lake Agawam, Suffolk County; Chautauqua Lake, Chautauqua County; Craine Lake, Madison County; and Putnam Lake, Putnam County).
Subsequent testing showed no toxins and state officials advised caution, while saying decisions to open or close Sandy Bottom Beach could be based on visual observations.
Terry Gronwall, chairman of the Honeoye Lake Watershed Task Force, said that while the samples taken on July 17 and tested on July 22 in Honeoye Lake showed the high toxin level, it is impossible to know day-to-day what the level is, or if it still exists. Because of that, Gronwall said, it is best to follow the strictest safety precautions, without panicking.
Gilman said he believes this is not the first year Honeoye Lake’s algae has contained the toxins. “I suggest we’ve had the toxins from about 2005,” he said of the naturally occurring bacteria that can pose a health risk at high levels.
This is the first year blue-green algae samples from Honeoye Lake have been tested for toxins. It is part of efforts by state officials to get a stronger handle on what is happening on the lakes as the algae continues to be a growing problem.

Dam or be damned?

In 1991, a violent rain storm causing major damage to lake properties prompted citizens’ groups and local officials to join forces.
“After the rain event, there were outraged citizens,” recalled Ed Jackson, who worked on the multi-year project to reconstruct the low, earthen dam at the north end of the lake to help prevent future calamities. In the end, hundreds of volunteer hours and work with local, state and federal officials led to the building of a concrete weir in 1999.
The purpose was to maintain a lake level that would reduce flooding and property damage, while also protecting Honeoye’s surrounding wetlands, Jackson said, adding he didn’t recall algae being mentioned during the project.
The weir became an issue this summer.
Moore said last week he had some 200 signatures on a petition asking the Richmond Town Board to either remove the weir or replace it with an updated, gated version. While other lakes have gates that can be regulated, Honeoye “is way behind the times,” he said. Jeff’s father, James, also a lake resident, said addressing the weir “is a way to start, to see if we can get some state aid, to get somebody to give us an answer about cleaning this up.”
Richmond Town Supervisor Ralph Angelo said Monday he thinks the issue is worth a look. Angelo said he is talking with state officials about the algae problems and what might be done. Other lakes across the state have algae, he said: “It is not only our problem ... I hope we can get help from someplace.”

Grading the harvester

Last summer, a new weed harvester replaced two worn-out machines thanks to a pooling of resources with Ontario County and the towns of Richmond and Canadice. The new machine is wider, with a bigger capacity for hauling more weeds per load. Its price tag: $220,168, including related equipment.
Jack Starke, a former chairman of Honeoye Lake Watershed Task Force who has been involved in lake-preservation projects for years, said in 2011 a proposal to discontinue the harvester prompted the Ontario County Planning Department to survey residents on the matter.
The results were overwhelming “to continue or improve the harvester program,” he said.
The harvester came under scrutiny again during the recent algae bloom as skeptics said they thought it was making matters worse. The petition addressing the weir also asks for ending weed cutting.
County Senior Planner Betsy Landre is familiar with the debate. Harvesting is the only way to remove phosphorus from the lake ecosystem, she said in an email. Last year, the harvester removed 475 tons of vegetation, Landre said.
Efforts to keep pollution out of the lake, such as preventing runoff, are good in that they help reduce "new" phosphorus from entering the lake, she added. But it’s the harvester that tackles the phosphorus that is already there.
PJ Emerick, manager of Ontario County Soil and Water Conservation District, said the district continues to do what it can with the help of state grants to reduce pollution in the lake. That includes a project stabilizing roadside ditches in a section of the Honeoye Lake watershed to prevent runoff. As for the harvester, Emerick said use of the machine “plays an important role in reducing weeds.”
In battling blue-green algae, “there are many pieces to this puzzle,” Emerick said. “There is not one action item to solve this problem.”
Addressing concerns, Landre said “harvesting isn't 100 percent efficient, and there are some fragments from cut plants that are not captured during harvesting.”
Earlier this season, the county crews worked with Cayuga County's harvesting staff from Owasco Lake to swap lessons and techniques to get the best use of the harvester, she said. “Our crew said they benefited enormously from this exchange.”

The way we were

Starke and others say they want to remind people that algae problems on Honeoye Lake go back decades. A keeper of scientific data, along with historical accounts of the lake from newspapers and other sources, Starke showed clippings he saved that showed extensive algae blooms years ago.
Steve Barnhoorn, a Richmond Town Board member who grew up in Honeoye, said he recalled when his parents, Bart and Rebecca Barnhoorn, owned a home on the lake’s northeast side. “I distinctly remember algae blooms occurring during the summer months,” he said. “Mom simply told us to stay out of the water.”
Starke said one factor he believes is contributing to the recent algae bloom involves the length of time that has passed since a chemical treatment (aluminum sulfate) was done to control algae in 2006 and 2007.
“2008 was an incredibly clear year,” recalled Starke. “I got excited and thought, ‘Holy smokes, is this alum really working that well?’ It turns out the alum has worked — and now we see it is worn out."
The lake system is "very complex,” Landre noted.
“Ontario County is committed to working with our partners and the lake community to understand the lake and to implement practices to improve water quality within our means," Landre said. "The important thing is that the community come together to work toward positive action to help where we can.”